Tracey and Quattro and the Empty Shack (or so they thought)
by That GF FAN
Summary: When Dipper clones' number 3 (Tracey) and 4 (Quattro) return to get supplies for their adventures in the forest, they discover that they're not as alone in the Mystery Shack as they previously thought. A little One off about the Dipper clones. Art by Our-Celestial-Death on Deviantart.


It was a warm but overcast day in Gravity Falls. A closed sign hung on the Mystery Shack window. It was like a ghost town around the place. All was quiet. Well except for one spot. A little bush rustled in the breeze. Behind it, two very odd individuals indeed.

It was two of the Dipper clones.

The ones who had been tasked to steal Robbie's bike during the party at the Mystery Shack several days ago. Initially the duo, now named Tracey and Quattro had returned to witness Dipper melting their clone brethren. The two had hid in the closet planning to take over Dipper's life but were caught before they could. They had been on the run since then. But now they had returned.

"I don't know Tracey? This seems like a very bad idea," Quattro said.

"Look it's simple. When we were hiding in that closet, I noticed a pair of rain gear. Rain coats, umbrellas, boots, you name it. All we have to do is sneak back in, grab it, get out and we'll be all set for the storm tomorrow," said Tracey.

"But are you certain no one's in the shack," Quattro responded.

"I'm certain. While you were asleep I was up listening to everything going on inside. Grunkle Stan took everyone on some sort of "employee retreat" to the Gravity Falls history museum. No one's in the shack right now and no one will be in there for a while. By the time they return, we'll be long gone with those rain coats," Tracey said.

He looked through his binoculars and spotted what he was looking for, "Yes, just as I suspected. Grunkle Stan left the window open. Come on Quattro, let's get this job done," Tracey said as he started for the window.

The two reached the window and Tracey began to climb in.

"Tracey, wait! I'm having my doubts. Are you certain we won't get caught? I think we should abandon this right now," protested Quattro.

"Okay then. You can stay out here while I get only myself a rain coat. It'd be a shame if you die. It'll be quite lonely if you melt away in the rain," said Tracey in a manipulative tone.

Quattro hesitated but soon be gave in. He followed after Tracey and climbed through the open window. The two were now inside the Mystery Shack. Just like he said, the shack was empty.

"Wow, I guess you were right Tracey. No one's here," Quattro said.

"See I told you. I don't get my facts wrong. Now come on, the rain coats are upstairs. All we have to do is get them and…"

Tracey's talk was interrupted by the sounds of footsteps coming down the stairs.

"You were saying," Quattro said mockingly.

Tracey covered his mouth and pushed him into a space behind the staircase, "SHHHH. You want to get caught or something," he yelled.

The two hid behind the stairs until the footsteps reached the bottom. Tracey then peaked out of their hiding space to see who it was.

"Who is it? Is it Dipper Classic," Quattro asked.

"No. It's Mabel," responded Tracey.

Mabel walked down the stairs and into the living room while talking on the phone to someone. Tracey tried to listen in.

"No, it's just me here Grenda. Grunkle Stan was supposed to take us all on this boring trip to the museum to see some exhibit on money. He said everyone had to go or we'd be fired," Mabel said.

"What's she saying," Quattro asked.

Tracey told him to be quiet as he kept on listening.

"How did I get out of it? Oh, I just pretended to be sick and pulled the old puppy dog eyes on him. Worked like a charm. I do feel sorry for Dipper. He must be dying of boredom. But at the same time, I got the whole shack to myself today. And Waddles is here too of course," Mabel said.

Tracey turned around to tell Quattro, "Well, I guess you were right. The shack wasn't empty. Mabel pulled the old "I'm sick," trick to get out of that trip. Everyone's gone but her. And she's in the living room. If we try to go upstairs she'll notice us," he said.

"Well, what are we going to do then," Quattro asked.

"Hold up, I think she's saying something else," responded Tracey as he began to listen to Mabel's phone call again.

"Oh me? Well there's a Ducktective marathon on all day today. I'm just gonna sit in the living room and watch it while eating junk. I give myself an hour before I pass out from boredom," Mabel said.

Tracey looked back to Quattro, "I think I have a plan," he said.

"What is it? Steal rain coats from someone else," asked Quattro.

"No! Mabel said she might fall asleep. All we gotta do is wait until she does and then sneak upstairs, get the rain coats and get out before she wakes up," said Tracey.

"That could take forever," replied Quattro.

"Trust me Quattro, if I know Mabel, and given I'm a Dipper clone, I do, she'll be asleep in no time at all," responded Tracey. And with that, the two sat down to wait it out.

As it turned out, "no time all" ended up being a lot of time. Half an hour later, still nothing.

One hour later, Mabel was still up and watching TV.

One and a half hours later, Quattro was fast asleep and Tracey was having trouble staying awake. Soon the sound of snoring filled his ears.

"Quattro, quit snoring, Mabel will notice us," he said shaking him.

Quattro looked up at him, "Uh, Tracey, that's not me," he replied.

Upon hearing this, Tracey looked over into the living room. Sure enough, his hunch was correct. Mabel was asleep.

"Come on Quattro, now's our chance. Mabel's finally asleep," he whispered.

"Can we get something to eat first, all that waiting's made me hungry," replied Quattro.

Tracey facepalmed. He checked to make sure Mabel was still asleep, "Uh, fine! But we have to be both quick and quiet," he responded.

The two tip-toed into the living room past Mabel who was asleep on the couch holding a bag of chips.

"Quattro, what the heck are you doing," Tracey said in a whisper as he looked back to see Quattro reaching for the bag of chips.

"What? It's sour cream and onion dip. I love that flavor of chips," he responded.

Tracey gestured to him to quit it which he reluctantly obliged to. The two soon made it into the kitchen and began to rummage through the cupboards.

"Here, eat this," Tracey said handing Quattro a packet of cheese and crackers.

"You want some too," he asked.

"I'm fine. But now let's get back to the mission. We need to get upstairs and…"

Tracey's monologue was interrupted again. This time by the arrival of Waddles. He stood at the exit to the kitchen and starred right back at both of them.

"It's a pig! What do we do," Quattro said?

"Relax man. I got this," said Tracey as he knelt down to Waddles, "hey there, pig. So, uh yeah, there's two of us here. So, um, you mind letting us pass by and…."

Waddles began to oink. Tracey got nervous. He was about to pick him up when…

"Waddles, is everything okay," said a voice from the living room.

Mabel had woken up.

"Quattro quick, hide," Tracey yelled. Quattro climbed the counter and hid on top of the fridge while Tracey hid behind some boxes. Mabel then walked into the kitchen and looked at Waddles.

"What's wrong buddy," she asked.

Waddles just oinked.

"Well, you woke me up from a great nap. I had this great dream involving this cupcake and a flying chocolate tree."

Mabel then noticed something on the floor. It was a wrapper for a cheese and crackers packet.

"That's odd. I don't remember eating this. Eh. Come on Waddles. You and I have some Ducktective to watch," said Mabel as she picked him up and walked back into the living room.

Tracey and Quattro emerged from their hiding places, "what do we do now Tracey? Mabel's up and blocking the only exit out of the kitchen," asked Quattro.

Tracey looked around trying to come up with a plan. He knew Mabel may not fall asleep again and if they couldn't escape, Dipper may return and catch them. And after seeing what he did to the other Dipper clones, he knew what fate awaited them if they were caught.

His thinking was interrupted when Waddles returned and started to chew on his leg.

"Ah. Get off me you dumb pig! This is all your fault! I'm gonna kick you out of the kitchen if you don't stop," he yelled.

At that moment, Quattro snapped his fingers, "Wait, Tracey! I have an idea," he said. "Give me the pig."

"Oh gladly," Tracey said picking Waddles up and handing him to Quattro.

"Okay, now open the window," he said.

Still unaware of his plan, Tracey listened and opened the kitchen window.

Quattro lifted Waddles and set him outside before shutting it.

"There we go," he said.

"That's it. Your plan was to kick the pig out of the house. I thought you had a plan to get rid of Mabel," Tracey said.

"Oh, it is," Quattro said.

"Uh, in case you haven't noticed, Mabel is still in the living room," responded Tracey as he pointed to Mabel who was cracking open her fifth can of Pitt Cola.

"Oh, is she," Quattro replied.

Before Tracey could say anything, there was a knock at the door.

"What, who's that," Mabel said as she got up to go investigate.

Before Tracey could react, Quattro grabbed his hand and began to run. When the two of them reached the staircase, they tip toed up as Tracey looked over to see Mabel opening up the front door, facing away from them.

"Waddles? What are you doing outside," she said to her pet pig who had been knocking on the door.

As she began to close it, she heard footsteps behind her. Mabel looked back to the staircase to see no one was there.

"Hmm. Footsteps, you outside, a wrapper for cheese snacks in the kitchen which I didn't eat? You know Waddles, I think that we're not as alone as we think we are right now," she said. "Follow me, we're going to figure out what's going on once and for all."

Meanwhile upstairs, Tracey and Quattro ran into Dipper and Mabel's room.

"How…how did you know," asked Tracey.

"Well it was simple. I figured if put outside, Waddles, given how domesticated he is would run back to the front door and want back in. Mabel would then get up to open the door. While she'd be doing that, we'd make a run for it," Quattro replied.

"Dang. I'm sorry I underestimated you Quattro. That was a pretty good plan," Tracey responded.

"Ah thanks," Quattro said as he hugged his friend.

"Okay, okay. Don't get too big headed. We still have to get back out you know," Tracey replied.

He then opened the closet door where as he had expected, the rain coats sat. Sure enough, there they still were.

"Alright, all we have to do is grab them and get out before Mabel figures out, we're here," Tracey said to Quattro.

As the two began to collect the rain gear, they heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

"It's Mabel! HIDE," yelled Quattro.

He shoved Tracey into the closet and locked it.

"Are you insane? The closet will be the first place she'll look. It happens in every single movie," replied Tracey.

But before they could escape, the door to the room began to open. Tracey and Quattro kept silent as Mabel walked in with a baseball bat in hand with Waddles following her.

"Alright, who's in here? Show yourself you intruding butt face," she yelled.

The clones watched as Mabel looked under the beds and on top of the shelves.

Waddles then waddled over to the closet door and oinked.

Mabel began to walk over to the closet. Tracey and Quattro began shaking like Dipper's legs did near Wendy as they feared Mabel was about to catch them.

"No Waddles. The closet is the most obvious place an intruder would hide. It's always the first place they look in the movies. No one would be that dumb enough to hide there. You go down stairs and check the gift shop while I check the bathroom," Mabel said.

Waddles oinked and walked towards the stairs. Meanwhile Mabel started for the bathroom.

"She didn't see us," Quattro said.

"I guess you were right to hide us in here. Mabel looked everywhere but the closet," replied Tracey. "Now come on. She's looking in the bathroom. Now's our chance to escape."

The two grabbed the rain coats and other rain gear, put them into two bags and tip toed towards the door. Looking down the hall and seeing Mabel in the bathroom, they made a run for it.

"Quick, we're almost home free," Tracey yelled as they ran down the stairs.

They almost made it to the front door when Waddles ran towards it and blocked it.

"Oh no now what," Quattro said.

"Quick. Let's get out through the back door before…"

" _ **GOTCHA!"**_

Tracey and Quattro looked behind them to see Mabel standing right there.

"Oh uh…hi, Mabel," Quattro said nervously.

Tracey just rolled his eyes.

"Well then. I guess I found the intruders. And here I thought Dipper told me all his clones had died. Including you two" Mabel said.

"Well, he was wrong. Dipper classic asked us to steal Robbie's bike. When we returned, we saw him murder our clone brethren. What kind of monster does that," Tracey said.

"Look uh,"

"Tracey. And this is Quattro," Tracey said.

"Look, "Tracey", Dipper never purposely killed your friends. Well I mean he did, given he set off the fire alarms. But he had no choice. They all had turned on him. He only did it to stop them from taking over his life," Mabel said.

"Oh yeah, then why did he have a can of Pitt Cola in hand when he found us in the closet," Quattro yelled.

"The party duh. He didn't even know you were there. Hold up," Mabel said as she walked into the living room and returned with Journal 3.

She opened it up to the page Tracey had written on, "see look. He never meant to kill you."

Tracey and Quattro looked at what Mabel was pointing to. It was a paragraph written by Dipper after the two of them had run out of the closet. It said that he had returned to the bedroom and heard himself arguing with himself to find the two of them in the closet.

"Wait so, he wasn't going to kill us," said Tracey.

"No. He never meant harm you. In fact, he was worried sick about you two," Mabel said.

Tracey looked at the second last sentence, "I guess he was," he said.

"Oh hey, the last sentence says he got to dance with Wendy. Guess that's mission accomplished," Quattro said.

Tracey pondered for a moment before he spoke, "so, how did you find us."

"Oh, it was simple. Waddles oinking alerted me. I just ran down as soon as I heard him," said Mabel.

"Oh," Tracey said. "I guess you'll be wanting us to return this rain gear now."

"Nah. Keep it. Me and Dipper never go out in the rain. And given you two would melt without them, I reckon you need it more than we do. Don't worry, I'll make up some excuse if Grunkle Stan ever asks where they went" responded Mabel.

The two clones smiled, "Thanks Mabel," said Quattro.

"Anytime. And hey, you can always stay here with us. I'm sure we'd be able to make it work," offered Mabel.

"Thanks. But I think we'll pass on the offer," said Tracey.

"Yeah. We sort of want to live off the grid. It's a beautiful forest out there. And given we now know Dipper is no longer out to get us, we don't have to worry about him anymore or live in fear," replied Quattro.

"Yeah. And I think three Dippers would drive you and Grunkle Stan insane," Tracey said.

"Oh, trust me. One's more than enough. And not just for me and Grunkle Stan. But Wendy too," Mabel said.

The three of them laughed.

"Well, I guess we'll be on our way. Also, you think you could not tell Dipper classic about this? He may come looking for us then," Tracey said.

"I promise. Be safe you two" said Mabel. After getting the two to promise they'd be safe out there and hugging them, Mabel let them go on their way back into the forest with the rain coats.

"Oh wait! I've got one more question Mabel," Quattro said. "How did you run down the stairs so quickly without us hearing you?"

"Oh uh, well, I'm just good at being stealthy. I didn't win the Piedmont junior cross country run because I was slow you know," Mabel said.

Tracey and Quattro shrugged, "I guess that makes sense," Quattro replied.

And with that, the two remaining Dipper clones walked off into the woods.

Mabel sighed as she closed the door.

"Phew. That was a close one. They almost figured it out. Okay, you can come downstairs now," Mabel said.

At the moment, another Mabel walked down the stairs.

"They didn't ask," said the Mabel clone.

"Oh, they asked. But my excuse worked," replied Mabel.

"Oh good. Well that was a great idea sending me upstairs to look around for them while you waited down here to ambush them as they tried to escape. Good work Mabel," said the clone.

"You too, Lebam," replied Mabel.

"Hey so, Grunkle Stan, Dipper, Soos and Wendy aren't going to be back for another hour or so. What do you wanna do now," she asked.

"Well, the Ducktective marathon is probably still on. Wanna order a pizza and just spend the rest of the day watching it," Labam offered.

"I though you'd never ask," Mabel said laughing.

And with that, Mabel and her secret twin Lebam spent the rest of the day watching TV and eating pizza.

* * *

 **The End**


End file.
